The Nature and Names of the Coming Antichrist

The Coming Antichrist Has Been Given Many Names in the Bible.

Biblical Names for the Antichrist- Old Testament

1. Adversary; Psalms 74:8-10; Amos 3:11
2. Assyrian; Isaiah 10:5, 12
3. Belial; Nahum 1:15
4. Bloody and Deceitful Man; Psalms 5:6
5. Branch of the Terrible Ones; Isaiah 25:5; Isaiah 14:19
6. Chief Prince; Ezekiel 38:2
7. Crooked Serpent; Job 26:13; Isaiah 14:19
8. Cruel One; Jeremiah 30:14; 23
9. Destroyer of the Gentiles; Jeremiah 4:7
10. Enemy; Ps 55:3; Jeremiah 30:14; 23
11. Evil Man; Psalms 140:1
12. Head over many Countries Psalms 110:6
13. Head of the Northern Army Joel 2:20
14. Idol Shepherd; Zechariah 11:16-17
15. King of Princes; Hosea 8:10
16. King of Babylon; Isaiah 14:11-20
17. Little Horn; Daniel 7:8-11, 21-26; 8:9-12, 23-25
18. Man of the earth; Psalms 10:18
19. Merchant, deceit, oppress; Hos 12:7
20. Mighty Man; Psalms52:1
21. Nail; Isaiah 22:25
22. Prince That Shall Come; Daniel 9:26
23. Prince of Tyre; Ezekiel 28:2-10
24. Profane Wicked Prince of Israel; Ezekiel 21:25-27
25. Proud Man; Habakkuk 2:5
26. Rod of God’s Anger; Isaiah 10:5
27. Seed of the Serpent; Genesis 3:15
28. Son of the Morning; Isaiah 14:12
29. Spoiler, Destroyer; Isaiah 16:4-5
30. Vile Person; Daniel 11:21
31. Violent Man; Psalms 140:1, 10, 11
32. Wicked, Wicked One; Psalms 9:17; 10:2, 4; Isaiah 11:4; Jeremiah 30:14, 23
33. Willful King; Daniel 11:36

Biblical Names for the Antichrist-New Testament

1. Angel of the Bottomless Pit; Revelation 9:11
2. Antichrist; 1 John 2:18, 22
3. Beast; Revelation 11:7, 13
4. Father of the Lie; John 8:44; 2 Thessalonians 2:11
5. Lawless One; 2 Thessalonians 2:8
6. Man of Sin; 2 Thessalonians 2:3
7. One Come in His Own Name; John 5:43
8. Prince of Darkness; 2 Thessalonians 2:3
9. Son of Perdition; 2 Thessalonians 2:3
10. Star; Revelation 8:10; 9:1
11. Unclean Spirit; Matthew 12:43
12. Vine of the earth; Revelation 14:18

Capabilities of the Antichrist

1. Big Mouth Daniel 7:8, 11, 20
2. The Son of Satan; Genesis 3:15
3. Intellectual Genius; Daniel 7:20; Ezekiel 28:3
4. Oratorical Genius; Daniel 7:20; Revelation 13:2
5. Political Genius; Daniel 11:21
6. Commercial Genius; Daniel 8:25; Revelation 13:17; Daniel 11:38; 43; Ezekiel 28:4-5
7. Military Genius; Daniel 8:24; Revelation 6:2; Revelation 13:4; Isaiah 14:16
8. Governmental Genius; Revelation 13:1-2, 17:17
9. Religious Genius; 2 Thessalonians 2:4; Revelation 13:3, 14, 15

The Jews have called him Armilus. In their non-canonical writings (Midrashim)

For Example:

Saadia ben Yosef (cir. AD 882-942) writes of this coming world leader as Armilus[1] which in some smaller Midrashim are dealing with the “latter days.” In the “Midrash wa-Yosha’”—which comes nearest to Saadia’s conception—Armilus is taken to be Gog’s successor; but is represented as a monstrosity, bald-headed, with one large and one small eye, deaf in the right ear and maimed in the right arm, while the left arm is two and one-half ells long. His battle with and his defeat by the Messiah, son of Joseph, correspond with Saadia’s account.[2] The statement that is found there is that Armilus is the son of Satan and of a stone. [3]

 The Antichrist Appears at the Beginning of the Tribulation

 Revelation 6:1  

And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, Come.

 Revelation 6:2  

And I saw, and behold, a white horse, and he that sat thereon had a bow; and there was given unto him a crown: and he came forth conquering, and to conquer.

Since he is a counterfeit Christ he will have a natural birth and a supernatural birth.

The natural origin of Christ is that He was a product of a Jewish woman. The supernatural origin was the miraculous virgin birth by means of the power of the Holy Spirit. The result was the God-Man that we worship as Jesus of Nazareth that we know as the Messiah or Christ.

The Antichrist Will Be a Gentile:

He Will Be of Roman Origin:

The person that makes the seven-year covenant with Israel whose people destroyed the Temple is the Antichrist. (Daniel 9:26-27)

His Supernatural Origin:

The supernatural origin of Antichrist is by means of a counterfeit virgin conception. The supernatural origin is found in Genesis 3:15.

Genesis 3:15  

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

 This verse gives the first prophecy of the coming of the Messiah. It also speaks to the coming of Antichrist. There are two pairs listed here.

1. Enmity between Satan and the woman
2. The second pair is the seeds of the Woman and the seed of Satan.

The first satanic enmity with woman is shown in Genesis six where demons intermarry with human women attempting to stop the Messiah from coming. A worldwide flood stopped this attempt. It is important to note though that the second pair is the enmity between Satan’s seed and the woman’s seed. Women do not have the seed for procreation, men do. However, since Jesus was born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14) the expression her seed represents a miraculous conception.

The reference in this verse to Satan’s seed implies a supernatural, miraculous conception too. From this passage then it can be deduced that Satan will someday impregnate a Roman woman who will give birth to Satan’s seed who is going to be the Antichrist. The woman might not be a virgin because Scripture does not affirm this but he will be conceived through supernatural means. Consider II Thessalonians 2:8-9.

II Thessalonians 2:8  

And then shall be revealed the lawless one, whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of his mouth, and bring to nought by the manifestation of his coming;

II Thessalonians 2:9  

[even he], whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders

 The Greek word translated working is energeo, which means to energize. So then the coming of Antichrist will be brought about by the energizing of Satan. The counterfeit Son of the unholy Trinity will be brought about by a counterfeit virgin conception.

A time is coming when the events of Genesis six will be repeated.  The fallen anointed Cherub Satan (Lucifer) will impregnate a Roman woman to give birth to Satan’s son. The product of this conception will be a counterfeit god-man.

The Character and the Rise of the Antichrist:

Because of his close relative (father) Satan the Antichrist will have access to the satanic and demonic realm. He will accept the offer of Satan that Jesus refused when He was tempted in the wilderness. When he accepts Satan’s offer of all the kingdoms of the world it will start his rise to political power and world domination. The Church may be here to see his rise. We do not know when the rapture will occur. It can happen any time before the Tribulation starts and that is sometime before the signing of the seven-year covenant with Israel. Some see the timing of the Rapture of the Church as occurring sequentially different than this.

Daniel describes him as a willful king, characterized by self-exultation above all men and self-deification by magnifying himself above even God. By deifying himself he will put himself above all humanity. He won’t desire the love of women and therefore be inhuman toward women. Some have concluded that he will be a homosexual from (Daniel 11:37). The enmity of Satan against women will continue through Satan’s seed. He will be under the total control of Satan. He will honor Satan. His policy will be “might makes right.” Then with the help of this foreign god, Satan he will take over the strongest defenses in the world appearing invulnerable. Those who give over themselves to his authority will be given status and authority in his kingdom. (Revelation 13:17-18; 666) He will divide territory he has conquered among those who will be loyal to him and confess him to be god.

One of his capabilities will be superb oratory skill while misleading the masses.

 This will be his chief satanic enablement. He will be able to sway the masses with “great swelling words.” Ian Kershaw in his biography of Adolph Hitler provided the following quote of his appraisal of Hitler’s oratory skills. “Hitler’s frequently demonstrated diffidence and unease in dealings with individuals contrasted diametrically with his self-confident mastery in exploiting the emotions of his listeners in the theatrical setting of a major speech. He needed the orgasmic excitement which only the ecstatic masses could give him.” Hitler himself quipped that “I must have a crowd to speak.[4]

So the Antichrist will be Satan -controlled and Satan energized who will set out to conquer the world. The first seal demonstrates the beginning of his conquest. He does not gain full control until the middle of the Great Tribulation. This then is the first of the four horsemen of the apocalypse (Revelation 6:2) the rider on the white horse wearing a stephanos going out conquering and to conquer.

He Will Lead The Entire World

THE COMING ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT

Some day the events of Ezekiel 38 & 39 will occur as a Russian leader whose title is Gog seeks spoils of some sort in the land of Israel. It might be the minerals in the Salt Sea or the recent natural gas finds off shore of the land allotted to the tribe of Asher. Some have conjectured that he might have the Arab oil as his actual target using Israel as a stepping stone to get to it. In any event the Bible teaches that Gog leads a coalition of Arab Muslim nations as well as Germanic peoples in an invasion of Israel. Some believe that He will emerge from Islam. This causes the elimination of those world powers to have any remaining political prowess on the world scene. It will take the Israelis seven months to clean up the dead or they will wait seven months to enter the battlefield to start the clean-up. No one will be allowed to touch any of the bodies until the professionals have cleaned the area. Additionally, the residue of the weapons will burn for seven years providing fuel for the cities in that region (Mountains of Israel). It is for these two aspects of this battle I believe nuclear arms will be used. The Hebrew words in these passages mean simply generic weapons such as missiles. They have been translated into arrows for example in ancient Babylon (597 B.C to 586 B.C.) when Ezekiel prophesied and knew only ancient weaponry.

Vladimir Zhirinovsky the ultra-Russian nationalists was presently a four-time presidential hopeful. In the December 1993 elections, he was elected to the Russian parliament. His Liberal Democratic Party shocked the nation by receiving twenty-five percent of the votes cast. This is the party that has been compared to Hitler’s Nazi party. Liberal Democrat in the Russian sphere of political influence has a different meaning than what we are accustomed to in the United States. Some call them ultranationalists. This kind of nationalism often has as its avowed goal racial, ethnic, or religious purity. Zhirinovsky has written extensively of the future war that Russia must engage in with the people to the south. His autobiography titled the “Last Dash to the South” discusses the Russian fate of attacking the Mediterranean people in Russia’s last great war. He, like Hitler has claimed that the Jews are infecting the nation and were responsible for both World War I and II. He sees Israel as a nation with tremendous wealth. He says that he envies the Jews because they are the richest nation in the world! While he may not be Gog his attitude, rhetoric, and fervor would lead one to believe that God’s prophecy is immanent.

When this happens the east and west will be brought together with the western democracies having superiority. This will be followed by a regional or economic division of the earth into ten separate entities each with its own leader. The Antichrist will rise as the eleventh leader. He will depose three of the ten and the remaining seven will submit to him in obedience. He will then be supreme leader of the entire earth’s one world government headquartered in Babylon (Zechariah 5:5-11). Lest we look for his appearance on the world stage too early assuming control it is important to review and emphasize the imagery that the prophet Daniel wrote of in his book.

In chapters two and seven he received imagery that depicted world empires that would emerge following Babylon. The last empire described as nondescript will be the single world government or system such as imperialism.  Specifically, in chapter seven after this world unity of one government, the entire world will be segmented into ten either geographic or economic regions. Only then he will come to power. He will kill three of the ten leaders (kings) in coups d’état and assume control over the remaining seven. Until the earth is divided in some obvious manner into ten regions we will not see him coming to power. Many have looked for him too early and thought to identify him with many historical characters. Two of those for example have been the pope, and Nero, the first century Roman emperor.

Destruction of Ecclesiastical Babylon 

Revelation 17:16

And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.

One of the Antichrist’s first acts in gaining religious control will be the destruction of the first religious system of the Tribulation, the Ecclesiastical Babylon. Previously, this religious system had the support of the civil government, for the first 3 ½ years. With all civil authority turned over to the hands of the antichrist, who is now in full control, civil government itself will destroy the domination of the Ecclesiastical Babylon.

When Adolph Hitler assumed the Chancellorship of Germany on January 30, 1933 the Protestant Churches acclaimed him as the savior. Some such as Karl Barth the theologian of Bonn University did not see any major significance to Hitler’s appointment. Within one month civil liberties were extinguished. Within two months most political opponents were imprisoned or left the country. The Reichstag surrendered its powers and gave Hitler complete control of the legislative process. Within four months all the trade unions were dissolved. Within six months all opposition parties were suppressed and forced into voluntary liquidation leaving the Nazis as the only party in Germany.

 The Christian Churches began to make voluntary comprises to the Nazis.

 The following items were used to further Hitler’s agenda.

1. Churches were supported with state taxes (church married to the state).
2. There was a split between public and private morality (one for the state and one for the private person-the doctrine of two spheres).
3. Human ideas were substituted for God’s Word-God was irrelevant-Enlightenment thinking was advanced.
4. Hatred for the Jews flourished under Hitler which originally started with Martin Luther.
5. The authority of the Bible which condemns these things was ignored.
6. The Third Reich claimed complete control over all churches in Germany.
7. The Nazis stopped the Bible from being published and disseminated.
8. Mein Kampf, Hitler’s book replaced the Bible in Churches.
9. All crosses were removed and replaced by swastikas.

If the genuine Church is here to see him, we must watch for him to have the same agenda that Hitler used. Many churches will go along with him because they are apostate now.

The Antichrist will try to change the laws too.

Daniel 7:25

And he shall speak [great] words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.

All these things will come to pass because the Scripture cannot be broken.

John 10:35

If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken

Many believe that he will be a Muslim. That may be as Scripture only tells us he will be born through a corrupt conception between an earthly Gentile woman and Satan himself.

Daniel E. Woodhead

[1] http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/1789-armilus

[2] Patai, Raphael, The Messiah Texts, Wayne State University Press 1979 Detroit, MI pg. 156-164

[3] Jellinek, Introduction to Bet Ha-Midrash, ii. 21-23, iii. 17-20

[4] Kershaw, Ian. Hitler in IV Volumes. New York: W.W. Norton, 1998. Reprint Norwalk, CT: Easton Press, 2005, Vol. I, 133

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